United State Postal Service

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

1. Avoid Purchased Lists
Have you ever been tempted to grow your list by a million potential customers in no time? Have you been to forums where thousands of “targeted leads” are sold for a few bucks?

Purchased lists are ticking time bombs, waiting to devastate your reputation as a sender. Riddled with dead emails and spam traps, they quickly inform mailbox providers that you break the rules by sending unsolicited emails.

At best, your messages may end up in junk folders. At worst, you may be branded as a spammer.

If you still buy emails lists, STOP NOW.

2. Watch What You Say
Spam filters analyze your content. There are no magic keywords to enhance deliverability, but limiting the use of risky words—such as free, buy, promo, etc.—reduces the likelihood of your emails landing in the spam folder.

Moreover:

Link only to legitimate sites with reputable domains.
Don’t go crazy with email size (30 kb is just fine.)
Balance the image-to-text ratio.
Host your images at credible services only.
3. Team Up With A Reliable ESP
Email Service Providers (ESP) are evaluated as senders based on the reputation of the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and domains of their clients.

Careless ESPs with low scores on the IP addresses of their senders are destined for spam folder delivery. Eventually, they will be blocked by the providers like Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Hotmail.

ESPs that send only solicited emails and ban spammers from their platforms have greater credibility with mailbox providers. Their Customers are more likely to experience undisturbed inbox delivery if they follow the steps outlined in this post.

4. Get Certified!
If you are on a dedicated IP space, you should definitely look at the certification provided by a company called Return Path. Once they audit your mailing practices, you can get a Sender Score Certified status which will guarantee that you inbox at most of the major ISPs out there. This service is not free, but it definitely deserves a closer look. The money spent on the fees should be easily returned by the increased conversions.

5. Avoid Dirty Tricks
What may have been effective in 1997 no longer works today. Remember, being caught red-handed in any of these practices may cause permanent damage to your deliverability ratios:

Hashbusting: Inserting random characters in the subject line or content to fool spam filters, e.g. “F.ree. p.r!z.e”
Deceptive Subject Lines: Starting the subject line with “Re:” or “Fwd:” to suggest an ongoing communication with the sender.
Misleading Claims: Subject line stating that the recipient has won a prize, while the copy lists conditions that have to be met in order to claim it.
Image Text: Concealing a text message in an image to fool spam filters.
6. Whitelist Me, Please!
Your Email Marketing Service (EMS) asks mailbox providers, such as Gmail and Yahoo Mail, to whitelist your domain or Internet Protocol (IP) address. That is why it’s important to send marketing emails through a reputable EMS, rather then sending emails from your own email server or email account.

When confirming your new subscribers (e.g. via a welcome email), ask them to add your “From” address to their address books. It is a foolproof way to release all future emails from the constraints of the spam filters. This is so easy, yet practiced so rarely.

7. It Matters Where You’re “From”
Mailbox providers evaluate more than just the sender’s IP, domain and content. Yahoo! Mail, in particular, pays close attention to your From field addresses.

Our internal analysts have even noticed variations in deliverability results from using the address support@yourdomain.com versus newsletter@yourdomain.com.

Avoid frequent changes of From field names
Avoid obscure From field names, such as: “1338sdsd8@domain.com”, “noreply@domain.com”
Use clear, trustworthy From field names, such as: “contact@”, “newsletter@”, “support@”, feedback@”
Stick to a limited number of verified, recognizable From field names. Build a good reputation for those addresses by sending only engaging, solicited emails, and you’ll notice the difference.

8. No Risk, No Problem
Your email campaigns may contain risky elements that are detrimental to the deliverability of your messages. Here’s a brief checklist to go through before you hit the “Send” button:

Be careful with words associated with the language of sales. If overused, they may trigger spam filters and route your emails to junk folders. Risky words include: “prize”, “free”, “bonus”, “buy, “purchase”, “order” etc.
Common sense will tell you that one exclamation mark per sentence is enough. Never shout at your subscribers, (e.g. “Buy my e-book now!!!”). Exclamation marks are especially risky in email subject lines.
Never overdo the use of “ALL CAPS.” When emphasis is needed, use a maximum of one word per sentence in all capitals, never a whole sentence.
9. Monitor Your Deliverability
Want an easy way to monitor deliverability that costs you nothing? Add a “seeded” list of email addresses using ISPs that your customers use most often, such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, and Hotmail.

Set up approximately 5 mailboxes at each provider then include the seed email addresses in your mailing list. After each newsletter is deployed, log in to each seed account and verify whether the email was delivered successfully by that provider. Pronto!

If you notice a deliverability problem, check your adherence to the other 9 points listed in this post. If you still experience problems, consult with your Email Marketing Service about how to resolve the problem.

10. Stay In Touch!
Sending emails once every two or three months can be more detrimental than sending multiple emails daily. Why? Your Customers might forget all about you.

If subscribers fail to recognize the From field, they may delete your message, hurting your “open” ratio. Even worse, they may forget signing up for your list and generate negative feedback by marking messages as spam.

There are lots of good reasons for maintaining a steady flow of communication, rather than relying on infrequent, massive “blasts.”

Summary
There are two golden rules in the world of email deliverability:

No ESP can solve your deliverability issues if you decide to purchase email lists.
Even the most beautiful email template can’t generate conversions if it lands in the spam folder.
Try out the tips mentioned in this post while reviewing your email program. Each of these steps can significantly increase your inbox placement rate and lead to more email conversions!

We forward USPS mail ONLY. USPS mail can be forwarded for one year, magazines and newspapers should be forwarded or discontinued with the publisher/vendor.
Mail CANNOT be forwarded to addresses outside the United States.
Mail CANNOT be forwarded to another students mail box on campus.
We do not forward mail for 5 weeks or less. This is due to the turnaround time for the USPS. If you need something forwarded to you please call (615) 322-2934 and speak to a mail services employee.
You may use our web link Click here from any computer to forward your mail. If you choose to forward your mail permanently you will not be allowed to change the address, you will need to contact Station B to make any changes.
Mail may be forwarded for students who leave the campus for study abroad, medical leave, personal leave, transfer to another school, graduate, and for any other extended leave. Some restrictions may apply. We cannot forward to overseas addresses.
Newspapers and magazines will not be forwarded; you should discontinue the subscription in advance or forward with the publisher/vendor.
Campus mail will not be forwarded; it will be sent back to the originating department with a correct forwarding address. Because this mail has no postage applied, the originating department/person will choose at their discretion if the mail piece should be mailed to the student’s forwarding address.
Cash should NEVER be sent through campus mail, for any reason. If you choose to do so it will be at your own risk. VU Mail Services will not be responsible for cash sent through the USPS or campus mail. Cash should always be delivered in person.
We DO NOT forward UPS, FedEx, DHL or other common carrier delivered packages during Summer break. If you have accidentally sent a package to your campus address and you have forwarded your mail, unless you contact us prior to the packages arrival it will not be checked in but immediately returned to sender.